System and method for developing finance rate information

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing finance rates are provided. According to the system and method, rate request information is acquired. Once the rate request information is acquired, it may be stored in a tracking database for statistical purposes. The acquired request information is submitted to a rate generation system that generates rates based at least upon the acquired request information. The generated rates are used to populate a template rate sheet that is then output in response to a rate request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/588,866, filed Jul. 16, 2004, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system and method for efficiently providingfinance rates, which may include, without limitation, retail financerates and lease rates. In particular, this invention pertains toacquiring rate request information, generating finance rates based uponinformation including, but not limited to, the rate request information,and generating a rate sheet by automatically importing information fromat least the generated finance rates and the rate request information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Automobile dealers often arrange for financing of vehicles for theircustomers as an additional service to selling automobiles. However, theautomobile dealers do not have the resources to collect, manage, andenforce these finance contracts. Therefore, after entering into afinance contract with a customer, the automobile dealers look to resellthe finance contract to a company in the business of financing, referredto herein as a “finance source,” which may be a credit union, a bank, acaptive finance company, etc. The rate at which a finance sourcepurchases a finance contract from an automobile dealer affects the ratethat the dealer charges the customer. The ability to offer competitivefinance rates often impacts the volume of automobiles that a dealer isable to sell. Dealers often leverage attractive financing options toassist them in reducing inventory, when necessary, through the use ofadvertised financing programs. Such financing programs are offeredthrough finance sources that are willing to guarantee particular ratesof purchase from the dealer for the duration of the program. Theseguaranteed rates for a duration of time are referred to in theautomobile finance industry as “rate programs.”

Conventionally, rate programs are provided to dealers in a haphazardmanner. Typically, requests for rate programs are initiated via email,telephone, or fax machine and have no standard format. For example, anemployee of a finance source may generate and submit a request for arate program via email to a colleague within the finance source thatstates, “Please provide me with a rate program from July 6 to July 14for Ford Explorer® and Ford Taurus® automobiles.” (Ford Explorer andFord Taurus are registered trademarks of the Ford Motor Company).However, the employee may fail to mention particular automobile modelnumbers involved in the program or whether cash is available from themanufacturer that may be used to reduce rates. Consequently, theconventional process often results in many communications to identifyall of the information needed to produce the requested rate program.This process results in time wasted by finance source employees, therebyreducing productivity and increasing costs.

In this conventional process, once a rate program request is receivedand all relevant information is identified, a rate program is developed.Finance source personnel then manually prepare spreadsheets with financerates, referred to as “rate sheets,” which indicate the rates that thefinancing source is willing to offer for the rate program. The ratesheet is then manually sent to one or more targeted automobile dealers,typically via facsimile. This cumbersome process wastes valuable time offinance source employees, reduces productivity, and increases costs.Accordingly, an improved rate program development system is needed inthe art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problems of the conventional rate program process are addressed anda technical solution is achieved by the system and method for providingfinance rate information disclosed herein. In particular, rate requestinformation is acquired to develop a rate program for a client, whichmay be, without limitation, an automobile dealer. The rate requestinformation may, for example, include a type of rate program requested,a region where the client is located, any applicable discounts,applicable financing terms, information describing the product to befinanced, and minimum allowable credit ratings of the client'scustomers. The types of rate request information acquired can betailored to the particular needs of the client and finance sourceinvolved. The rate request information may be acquired directly by wayof a web-based form.

Once the rate request information is acquired, it may be stored in atracking database for statistical purposes. The acquired requestinformation is submitted to a rate generation system that generatesrates based upon information including, but not necessarily limited to,the acquired request information. The generated rates are used topopulate a template rate sheet that is then output in response to therate request for use in connection with financing. The generated ratesmay be stored in a rate database that may be accessed when processingfinancing applications received in response to the rate programdescribed by the rate sheet. Further, data in the tracking database maybe accessed and updated when processing financing applications to keeptrack of the effectiveness of a rate program.

The above-described system and method reduces the amount of time thatpersonnel need to spend processing rate program requests, therebyincreasing productivity and reducing costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of this invention may be obtained from aconsideration of this specification taken in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a finance rate information generation systemaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates processing performed by the rate informationgeneration system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates rate generation processing performed by the rateinformation generation system according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a rate program request according to anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a rate sheet generated according to anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an efficient end-to-end process of developingrate programs and facilitates tracking and reporting of developed rateprograms and the financing applications processed under these programs.In particular, the invention acquires all designated information upfront, allows for approval of the gathered information prior toinitiating rate program development, and may store such information fortracking and/or reporting purposes. Once the designated information hasbeen acquired, finance rates may be generated based at least upon theinformation. Generated finance rates may be used to populatecomputer-readable template rate sheets, which may be transmitted to therequestor, or other designated person or input. The invention reducesthe amount of human interaction required to develop rate programs,thereby reducing costs, decreasing response times, and reducing error.

Although the invention is often described in the context of financingthe purchase of automobiles, one skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe invention also applies to any type of financing where finance rateinformation is needed. For example, one skilled in the art willappreciate that the invention also applies to leases, and, in this case,that the rate generation system 105 (discussed below beginning withFIG. 1) may generate money factors. In other words, the term “financerate,” as used in this specification, is intended to include moneyfactors used for leases. In the case of leases, one skilled in the artwill appreciate that the information gathered, as shown, for example, atFIG. 3, may be modified to include residual value information and otherinformation needed to generate money factors. In addition to leases, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the invention includes withinits scope generating rate information for balloon financing, branchfinancing, retail financing, and retail installment contracts.Accordingly, the invention is not limited to any particular form offinancing. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that theinvention includes generating rate information for the insuranceindustry. Further, although described in the context of a finance sourcepurchasing a finance contract from an automobile dealer, one skilled inthe art will also appreciate that the invention applies to a dealerarranging for direct financing by the finance source to the customer.

Additionally, although described in the context of automobiles, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the invention includes withinits scope the financing of airplanes, ships, recreation vehicles(“RVs”), all terrain vehicles (ATVs), Segways, Jet Skis, Waverunners,and any other transportation vehicles. Further, one skilled in the artwill appreciate that the invention includes within its scope thefinancing of homes and any other type of property.

FIG. 1 illustrates a finance rate information generation system 100according to one embodiment of the invention. The system 100 includesseveral storage components 104, 106, 108, and 110, and several processes103, 105, 107, 109, and 113. Although shown separately, one skilled inthe art will appreciate that the storage components 104, 106, 108, and110 may be located together or in groups in one or morecomputer-readable memories. For instance, the tracking database 104 maybe stored in a computer-readable memory in one computer, and the ratedatabase 108 may be stored in a computer-readable memory within anothercomputer. Alternatively, the tracking database 104 and the rate database108 may be stored in a single database in a single computer-readablememory in a single computer or data storage system. The term“computer-readable memory” is intended to include anycomputer-accessible data storage device, whether volatile ornonvolatile, electronic, optical, or otherwise, including but notlimited to, floppy disks, hard disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, flash memories,nonvolatile ROMs, and RAMs.

Additionally, although shown as separate logical databases, one skilledin the art will appreciate that the data represented by databases 104,106, 108, and 110, may be stored together or in groups in one or moredatabases, and that the invention is not limited to how, where, or inwhat combinations such data is stored.

Further, although shown separately, one skilled in the art willappreciate that processes 103, 105, 107, 109, and 113 may be performedby a single computer or by a plurality of computers communicativelyconnected. For example, one computer may perform the processes of thedata acquisition system 103, and another computer may perform theprocesses of the rate generation system 105 and the rate sheetgeneration system 107. Alternatively, a single computer may perform allthree processes. The term “computer” is intended to include any dataprocessing device, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, apersonal digital assistant, or any other device capable of processingdata or including a microprocessor. The term “communicatively connected”is intended to include any type of connection, whether wired orwireless, in which data may be communicated. Further, the term“communicatively connected” is intended to include connections betweendevices within a single computer, such as communication between aprocessor and a memory, or a connection between computers, such ascommunication between two computers on a wired or wireless network.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a rate program request for a client, which maybe, without limitation, an automobile dealer 101, is initiated andcommunicated to an employee of a finance source, such as a productmanager 102. Typically, rate program requests are initiated from withinthe finance source from an internal marketing department, management, orother internal personnel. However, one skilled in the art willappreciate that the invention is not limited to the source of a rateprogram request.

The product manager 102 inputs data regarding the request into a dataacquisition system 103. Alternatively, another entity (not shown), suchas the rate program request initiator, may directly input data regardingthe request into the data acquisition system 103 via a user-interfacepresented to him or her via a computer monitor. For example, the requestinitiator may log onto a web site distributed by the data acquisitionsystem 103 that presents the request initiator with a form for inputtingdata regarding the request. One skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe invention is not limited to who or what inputs data regarding therequest. Details regarding the data input process will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Once the rate request information has been input into the dataacquisition system 103, it is stored in a tracking database 104 fortracking and reporting purposes. The rate request information is alsoinput into a rate generation system 105 that produces competitive ratesthat are acceptable to the financing source. An example of a rategeneration process performed by the rate generation system 105 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. The rategeneration system 105 may receive other data 106 to facilitategeneration of the rates. Such other data may include state specific ratelaws or state specific product types. For example, regarding statespecific product types, such other data may include whether particularstates allow balloon financing. Such other data may also include dataregarding previously offered rates, rates offered by competitors, ratesby region, usury information, credit score tier breaks, informationregarding compliance with state and federal regulations, and any otherinformation that facilitates generation of the finance rates.

The generated rates may be stored in a rate database 108, which may bereferenced by an application processing system 112 described below. Thegenerated rates are fed into a rate sheet generation system 107 whichuses the rates, the rate request information acquired by dataacquisition system 103, and other data 106 to populate acomputer-readable template rate sheet. This process of generating therate sheet from a template will be described in more detail below withreference to FIGS. 2A and 4. The generated rate sheet may be transmittedto the dealer 101, other internal systems 109, as desired, and may bestored in a rate sheet database 110 for archival purposes.

Based on the received rate sheet, the dealer 101 now knows the lowestrate at which the financing source that provided the rate sheet willpurchase a financing contract from the dealer 101. Accordingly, thedealer 101 can determine what financing rates (and, as applicable,allowable mark-ups) to charge his or her customers. For customers whodesire to purchase an automobile with financing, the dealer submits anapplication for financing on behalf of the customer based upon the rateprogram generated by system 100. The application is submitted to anapplication processor 111. The application processor 111 then submitsthe application to an application processing system 112 to determinewhether the finance source will purchase that contract based upon thecustomer's credit worthiness, and if so, what the terms of the financingare. The application processing system 112 may be any system known inthe art for processing financing applications, except that theapplication processing system 112 is modified to interface withdatabases 104, 106, and 108. Application processing system 112 mayinclude people, computers, or a combination of both.

To facilitate processing of the applications, the application processingsystem 112 may access the rate information stored in the rate database108 and the other information stored in the database 106. As theapplications are processed by the processing system 112, results may bestored in the tracking database 104 and tied to the associated rateprogram. For instance, the financing applications may be tagged with arequest number (302 in FIG. 3, for example) to identify the rate programthat corresponds to each financing application. Accordingly, reportingsystem 113 may tally all applications associated with each particularrate program to show, for example, the total financing amountsassociated with each rate program. Over the course of time, reportingsystem 113 may also track default rates, early payoff rates, and otherperformance trends.

The process 200 of generating rates for rate programs performed by rateinformation generation system 100 will now be described in detail withreference to FIG. 2A. The process 200 begins with acquiring rate requestinformation at 201, which is performed by data acquisition system 103.According to an embodiment of the invention, the rate requestinformation acquired by system 103 is input via a form 300 shown, forexample, with FIG. 3. As discussed earlier, an employee of the financingsource, or some other individual, may fill out this form. In the exampleof FIG. 3, an employee of the financing source fills out the form, whichmay be a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet. (Microsoft Excel is a registeredtrademark of the Microsoft Corporation.) The rate request informationinputted into the form 300 may include requestor information 301, suchas the name of the individual inputting the information. The raterequest information may also include a request identifier 302 used fortracking the request and subsequently-generated rate program in thetracking database 104. Additional information may include the requestorigination location 303, which may also be used for reporting purposesin the tracking database 104. A promotional code 304 also may beincluded.

The form 300 may include the type of program requested, such as a statestandard program 305, a special program 306, and a manufacturersubvention program 307. An example of a state standard program 305 maybe offering a particular rate for an entire state for a period of time,such as 4.5% for New York for two weeks. An example of a special program306 may be offering a particular rate for a particular city for a periodof time, such as 4.25% for Buffalo for two weeks. An example of amanufacturer subvention program is when a manufacturer assists inproviding a below-market rate for one or more of the manufacturer'sautomobiles. One skilled in the art will appreciate that these examplesof program types are intended merely for illustration and that theinvention is not limited to these or any particular types of programs.

Other information in the form 300 may include product information 308describing the product or products involved in the rate program, whichin the example of FIG. 3 is a Saturn® SL2 automobile, model years2002-2005. (Saturn is a registered trademark of the Saturn Corporation.)Other program details may be included, such as the region and/orsubregion to which the program applies 309, start and end dates for therate program 310, finance terms 311, and discounts 312 associated withthe rate program. Examples of discounts 312 include discounts applied toapplications capable of efficient processing, such as applicationscapable of being signed electronically 313 and applications submittedthrough web-based forms, in this case, from a “DealerTrack”® web site314. (Dealer Track is a registered trademark of Dealertrack.com, Inc.)Discounts may also be applied to customers based on credit-worthinessthat may be quickly or automatically approved, such as through a ChaseExpress® approval process 315. (Chase Express is a registered trademarkof the Chase Manhattan Corporation, now JPMorgan Chase & Co.) Further,discounts may be applied to highly priced products, such as “Big Ticket”products 316 and “Super Luxury” products 317 defined in this example asluxury automobiles priced greater than $25,000, and $50,000,respectively. The request form 300 may also include information aboutacceptable credit risk 318, where minimum allowable credit scores, whichmay be FICO scores, for customers are identified.

Another aspect of the request form 300 pertains to volume versus yieldinformation 319. In this box, the increase or decrease in volumeexpected by the dealer 101 during the rate program may be indicated. Ifthe dealer 101 expects an increase in volume, the financing source maydecide to lower rates by a certain percentage. Alternatively, if thedealer 101 expects decreased volume, the financing source may decide toincrease rates by a certain percentage. In the example at box 319, thedealer 101 expects an increase in volume of $5 million, and in response,the financing source will lower its buy rate to the dealer by 2 basispoints. Because this information is stored in the tracking database, itcan later be reviewed to determine whether the expected increase involume came to fruition.

Additional information on the request form 300 may include the channel320 by which the dealer 101 is to receive the generated rate sheetdescribing the rate program, such as by facsimile, email, web site, or apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”). The request form 300 may alsoinclude approval information 321 where one or more supervisors inputtheir initials when they have reviewed and approved the request form300. The form 300 may also include formatting information 322 thatdescribes the appearance of the generated rate sheet. For example, theformatting information 322 may indicate that the rate sheet should havea summer theme with images of the sun. The foregoing are examples oftypes of information that may be included. Rate request information maybe tailored to the specific needs of the financing source or othersystem owner or user.

Returning to FIG. 2A, after the rate request information 202 has beenacquired at 201, it is input into the tracking database 104. Theacquired request information 202 and, optionally, some other data 106,are used to generate rates 204 at 203. The other data 106 may includestate specific rate laws or product types, including, withoutlimitation, whether a particular state allows balloon financing. Theother data 106 may also include market value information pertaining tothe product 308, such as a current market value of the Saturn SL2automobile identified in FIG. 3.

The functions performed at step 203 according to an embodiment of theinvention, which are implemented by the rate generation system 105, willnow be described with reference to FIG. 2B. It is to be understood,however, that FIG. 2B and its accompanying description is merely anillustration of one process of generating rates, and that one skilled inthe art will appreciate that any rate generation process may be used.Further, although FIG. 2B is described in the context of subregions,such as states, and regions, such as “northeast,” one skilled in the artwill appreciate that the rate generation process 203 is not limited tothis calculation structure.

At 250, the process of generating rates begins. At 251, based at leastupon other data 106, which may include historical data, productinformation, current rates, competitors' rates, maximum and minimumallowable rates, and desired volume changes, a proposed set of rates isdetermined. For example, if it is desirable that volume (in dollars)increase 5%, historical data may be referred to, such as last month'svolume (in dollars) and data describing historical volume increases as afunction of rate change, to determine proposed rates for the next month.Such rates may appear, for example, as shown in Table I below:

TABLE I New Jersey 2005 & 2004 Express 4.14% 60 mos 700+ 4.29% 680-6994.64% 660-679 4.79% 620-659 10.06% <620 14.56% 66 months 700+ 4.79% 72months 700+ 5.29%

As shown in Table I, such rates may be associated with product years,such as year 2005 and year 2004 automobiles; financing terms, such as 60months, 66 months, and 72 months; credit score tiers, such as a FICOscore of greater than or equal to 700, 680-699, etc. . . . ; andapplicable discounts, such as Chase Express (“Express” in Table I).Further, in one embodiment, the proposed set of rates determined at 251are associated with a particular subregion, such as the state of NewJersey, as shown in Table I.

At 252, a weighted average of the proposed rates from 251 is calculated,thereby producing a single adjusted rate for the subregion. The weightedaverage may account for volume (in dollars) and profits associated witheach product, financing terms, credit score tiers, etc. An example ofthe single adjusted rate for a subregion, in this case a state, is shownin Table II below.

TABLE II State Adjusted Rate New Jersey 4.42%

At 253, an expected change in volume (in dollars) for the subregion overa period of time due to the single adjusted rate from 252 is calculated.Such calculation may be based upon the other data 106, which may includethe historical data that may have been referenced at step 251. Anexample of such expected change in volume may appear as shown in TableIII below.

TABLE III State Expected Volume Change over Next Month New Jersey$20,814,158

At 254, steps 251-253 are repeated for all other subregions within aregion, if necessary. If a particular subregion does not requireproposed new rates, i.e., rates will stay the same for that subregion,step 251 may be skipped and steps 252 and 253 performed based uponexisting rates that are to remain unchanged. Accordingly, uponcompletion of steps 251-253 for all subregions, a single adjusted rate(from 252) and an expected change in volume (in dollars) (from 253) arecalculated, as shown, for example, with Table IV below.

TABLE IV State Adjusted Rate Expected Volume Change over Next Month NewJersey 4.42% $20,814,158 Connecticut 4.45% $0 New York 4.39% $25,341,889

At 255, a weighted average of adjusted rates for all subregions iscalculated, thereby arriving at a regional adjusted rate. For example,the adjusted rate data in Table IV is averaged in a weighted fashion toarrive at a regional adjusted rate, as shown, for example, in Table V.The weighted average may account for historical volume (in dollars) andprofits associated with each subregion. At 256, the expected volumechanges for each subregion are summed, thereby arriving at a regionalexpected volume change. For example, the expected volume change data inTable IV is summed to arrive at a regional expected volume change, asshown, for example, in Table V below.

TABLE V Region Adjusted Rate Expected Volume Change over Next MonthNortheast 4.41% $46,156,047

At 257, steps 251-256 are repeated for all other regions, if necessary.Therefore, upon completion of steps 251-256 for all regions, a singleadjusted rate (from 255) and an expected change in volume (in dollars)(from 256) are calculated, as shown, for example, with Table VI below.

TABLE VI State Adjusted Rate Expected Volume Change over Next MonthNortheast 4.41% $46,156,047 Southeast 4.43% $38,272,561

At 258, a weighted average of adjusted rates for all regions iscalculated, thereby arriving at a company-wide adjusted rate. Forexample, the adjusted rate data in Table VI is averaged in a weightedfashion to arrive at a company-wide adjusted rate, as shown, forexample, in Table VII. The weighted average may account for historicalvolume (in dollars) and profits associated with each region. At 259, theexpected volume changes for each region are summed, thereby arriving ata company-wide expected volume change. For example, the expected volumechange data in Table VI is summed to arrive at a company-wide expectedvolume change, as shown, for example, in Table VII below.

TABLE VII Company-Wide Adjusted Rate Expected Volume Change over NextMonth 4.42% $84,428,608

At 260, it is determined whether the company-wide adjusted rate andexpected volume change are sufficiently profitable, which may be basedat least upon known operating costs and historical information includedin other data 106. If the company-wide adjusted rate and expected volumechange are deemed sufficiently profitable at 260, the rates proposed atstep 251 (Table I, for example) are used as generated rates 204. If thecompany-wide adjusted rate and expected volume change are deemed notsufficiently profitable at 260, the entire process of FIG. 2B isrepeated and processing returns to step 250 where different proposedrates are chosen at 251.

Returning to FIG. 2A, the generated rates 204 are stored in ratedatabase 108 for the reasons previously discussed. The generated rates204, the acquired request information 202, and other data 106, may beused to generate a rate sheet 206 as an output of process 205. The otherdata 106 includes a template rate sheet to be populated with thegenerated rates. Advantageously, other data 106 includes a plurality oftemplate rate sheets, each specific to a particular type of rateprogram, region, or client, where the particular rate sheet to be usedfor the current rate program is determined based upon the acquiredrequest information 202.

Generation of the rate sheet 206 is performed by the rate sheetgeneration system 107, and will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a rate sheet 400 generated by the rate sheetgeneration system 107. The rate sheet 400 is used as an example only,and does not necessarily correspond with the example request 300described with reference to FIG. 3 or the generated rates shown in theexample of Table I. In its computer-readable form, the rate sheet 400may be a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with particular data cells orfields where the rate information 204, the request information 202, andother data 106 are inserted. For instance, the rate sheet 400, prior topopulation, may have the fields pertaining to data 402-432 (even numbersonly) blank, where the rate sheet generation system 107 fills in theseblank fields with the request information 202, the rate information 204,and the other data 106. For example, if the region information 309 inFIG. 3 indicates a subregion of New Jersey, the rate sheet generationsystem 107 could insert “New Jersey” into field 402 as shown in FIG. 4.On the other hand, however, data field 402 could be fixed as “NewJersey” so that this particular template rate sheet would apply only torate programs for the New Jersey region. In this scenario, the requestinformation 202 is queried to determine what the subregion is, and basedupon this subregion, the appropriate template rate sheet is selectedfrom the database 106.

Data fields capable of being populated may include effective dateinformation 404, 406, and 408, which is based upon the date information310 from FIG. 3. Fields 410 and 412 may be populated based upon theproduct information 308. Rate information 414 and 416 may be populatedbased upon the rate information 204 as well as the minimum allowablecredit rating information 318. The “maximum advance” information 418 and420 may be inserted from the generated rate information 204 and theallowable financing terms 311.

In the example of FIG. 4, the “Advance,” “Service Contracts,” and “GAP”terms 422, 424, and 426, respectively, are terms that apply to all rateprograms as determined by corporate policy, and are inserted from theother data 106. An advance is financing in excess of the value of theunderlying asset. For example, financing of $10,500 may be allowed on anasset worth $10,000. A service contract is an agreement between theconsumer, e.g., the automobile purchaser, and a third party to provideservices to the consumer. A bumper-to-bumper warranty on an automobileis an example of a service contract. The fee for a service contract maybe paid for by financing. GAP is a dept cancellation instrument paid forby the consumer and provided by a third party to cover the differencebetween the value of the vehicle due and the then-outstanding amount dueif the vehicle is totaled or stolen and not recovered.

Information from the “available discounts” field 428 may be populatedbased upon the discount information 312. Flat fee information 430, whichdescribes the fees provided to the dealer 101 if the dealer 101 offersthe customer the rates shown in 414 and 416 without any markup, may beinserted from the other data 106. However, if these fees are standardfor all rate programs, they may be fixed as part of the template. Area432 may be reserved for information regarding any current marketingprograms and may be inserted from other data 106.

The rate sheet 400 also may have data fields or formattingcharacteristics that are fixed as part of the template. For example,contact information 434 may be fixed because such information istypically constant between rate programs. Further, standard terms 436that are typically constant between rate programs may also be fixed aspart of the template rate sheet. Descriptive language supportinginsertable data fields are advantageously fixed. For example, thelanguage “Effective on Contracts dated” shown at 438 in support of theinsertable July 15^(th) date at 404, may be fixed as part of thetemplate. Formatting aspects of the rate sheet 400 are also fixed, suchas the formatting of the box-structures 440 around the rate information.

It is to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are merelyillustrative of the present invention and that many variations of theabove-described embodiments can be devised by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention. For instance,regarding FIG. 4, one skilled in the art will appreciate that theparticular combination of which data fields have data inserted into themand which data fields are fixed may depend upon the particular policieschosen by the financing source generating the rate program. Accordingly,one skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limitedby which particular fields are fixed and which have data inserted intothem or by the types or arrangement of the particular data fields. It isintended that any and all variations be included within the scope of thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1. A method for developing finance rate information for a product beingsold, the method comprising: acquiring rate request information, therate request information comprising information used to generate financerates, the information comprising the type of rate program requested,and a predicted change in volume of the product being sold within atleast one geographic entity during a rate program period; storing therate request information in a computer-readable memory; generatingfinance rates based upon the rate request information, the finance ratesbeing generated based on a proposed set of rates and the predictedchange in volume of the product being sold within the at least onegeographic entity during the rate program period, the generated financerates and total predicted volume change corresponding to a profitabilitylevel, the generated finance rates and total predicted volume changebeing recalculated with a different proposed set of rates until theprofitability level is above a predetermined threshold; generating, witha computer, a rate sheet by importing information including thegenerated finance rates and the rate request information; andtransmitting the rate sheet.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the raterequest information further comprises applicable financing durations,information describing a product to be financed, and applicable customercredit ratings.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the rate requestinformation comprises residual value information.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein the rate request information is stored in a tracking databaseto facilitate tracking financing applications associated with theacquired rate request information.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereininformation pertaining to a financing application associated with theacquired rate request information is stored in the tracking database. 6.The method of claim 5 further comprising generating reports based upondata in the tracking database.
 7. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising storing the generated finance rates in a computer-readablememory.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the generated finance rates arestored in a rate database for providing the generated finance rates toan application processing system.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising storing the rate sheet in a computer-readable memory.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 wherein the rate sheet is stored in a rate sheetdatabase for archiving purposes.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein thefinance rates are money factors.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein therate sheet provides information regarding financing a vehicle.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the vehicle is an automobile, a truck, amotorcycle, a recreational vehicle, an all-terrain vehicle, a Segway, aboat, a jet ski, or a waverunner.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein thefinance rates are automotive finance rates.
 15. The method of claim 1wherein the rate sheet provides information regarding financing a home.16. The method of claim 15 wherein the home is a house, a mobile home, atownhouse, or an apartment.
 17. A system for developing finance rateinformation for a product being sold, the system comprising: a dataacquisition system for acquiring rate request information, the raterequest information comprising information used to generate financerates, the information comprising the type of rate program requested,and a predicted change in volume of the product being sold within atleast one geographic entity during the rate program period; a rategeneration system communicatively connected to at least the dataacquisition system for generating finance rates based upon the raterequest information, the finance rates being generated based on aproposed set of rates and the predicted change in volume of the productbeing sold within the at least one geographic entity during the rateprogram period, the generated finance rates and total predicted volumechange corresponding to a profitability level, the generated financerates and total predicted volume change being recalculated with adifferent proposed set of rates until the profitability level is above apredetermined threshold; and a rate sheet generation systemcommunicatively connected to at least the rate generation system forgenerating a rate sheet by importing information including the generatedfinance rates and the rate request information.
 18. The system of claim17 wherein the rate request information further comprises applicablefinancing durations, information describing a product to be financed,and applicable customer credit ratings.
 19. The system of claim 17wherein the rate request information comprises residual valueinformation.
 20. The system of claim 17 further comprising a trackingdatabase communicatively connected to at least the data acquisitionsystem for storing the rate request information to facilitate trackingfinancing applications associated with the acquired rate requestinformation.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein information pertainingto a financing application associated with the acquired rate requestinformation is stored in the tracking database.
 22. The system of claim21 further comprising a reporting system communicatively connected to atleast the tracking database for generating reports based upon data inthe tracking database.
 23. The system of claim 17 further comprising arate database communicatively connected to at least the rate generationsystem and an application processing system for storing the generatedfinance rates and facilitating processing of financing applications bythe application processing system.
 24. The system of claim 17 furthercomprising a rate sheet database communicatively connected to at leastthe rate sheet generation system for storing the generated rate sheet.25. The system of claim 17 wherein the finance rates are money factors.26. The system of claim 17 wherein the rate sheet provides informationregarding financing a vehicle.
 27. The system of claim 26 wherein thevehicle is an automobile, a truck, a motorcycle, a recreational vehicle,an all-terrain vehicle, a Segway, a boat, a jet ski, or a waverunner.28. The system of claim 17 wherein the finance rates are automotivefinance rates.
 29. The system of claim 17 wherein the rate sheetprovides information regarding financing a home.
 30. The system of claim29 wherein the home is a house, a mobile home, a townhouse, or anapartment.
 31. A method for developing finance rate information for aproduct being sold, the method comprising: acquiring rate requestinformation, the rate request information comprising information used togenerate finance rates including information comprising the type of rateprogram requested, and a predicted change in volume of the product beingsold within at least one geographic entity during a rate program period;storing the rate request information in a computer-readable memory tofacilitate generating reports regarding financing applicationsassociated with the acquired rate request information; generatingfinance rates based upon the rate request information; storing thegenerated finance rates in a computer-readable memory for providing thegenerated finance rates to an application processing system; generatinga rate sheet by importing information including the generated financerates and the rate request information; storing the rate sheet in acomputer-readable memory; and transmitting the rate sheet.
 32. A systemfor developing finance rate information for a product being sold, thesystem comprising: a data acquisition system for acquiring rate requestinformation, the rate request information comprising information used togenerate finance rates including information comprising the type of rateprogram requested, and a predicted change in volume of the product beingsold within at least one geographic entity during a rate program period;a tracking database communicatively connected to at least the dataacquisition system for storing the rate request information tofacilitate generating reports regarding financing applicationsassociated with the acquired rate request information; a reportingsystem communicatively connected to at least the tracking database forgenerating reports based upon data in the tracking database; a rategeneration system communicatively connected to at least the dataacquisition system for generating finance rates based at lest upon therate request information; a rate database communicatively connected toat least the rate generation system and an application processing systemfor storing the generated finance rates and facilitating processing offinancing applications by the application processing system; a ratesheet generation system communicatively connected to at least the rategeneration system for generating a rate sheet by importing informationincluding the generated finance rates and the rate request information;and a rate sheet database communicatively connected to at least the ratesheet generation system for storing the generated rate sheet.
 33. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the rate sheet is transmitted electronically.34. The method of claim 31, wherein the rate sheet is transmittedelectronically.
 35. The system of claim 17, wherein the rate sheetgeneration system transmits the rate sheet electronically.
 36. Thesystem of claim 32, wherein the rate sheet generation system transmitsthe rate sheet electronically.
 37. The system of claim 1, wherein therate sheet is populated on a client's system.
 38. The system of claim17, wherein the rate sheet is populated on a client's system.
 39. Thesystem of claim 31, wherein the rate sheet is populated on a client'ssystem.
 40. The system of claim 32, wherein the rate sheet is populatedon a client's system.